Win sets up Els for Augusta run
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. --- A bead of sweat dripped off Ernie Els' brow when he stopped for a five-minute chat Wednesday before his pro-am round at the PODS Championship.
The hard part is over for the Big Easy. The hard work is not.
Els ended an 0-for-47 stretch on the PGA Tour when he won the Honda Classic, an astounding drought given his considerable talent. He is among four active players with at least three major championships, but none of the others has gone more than a year without winning on the world's toughest golf circuit.
It took a few days for his victory to sink in, and it was really driven home on the range at Innisbrook.
"The guys are congratulating you," he said. "They're not saying 'hard luck' or 'bad luck' or whatever that is."
Els would not have imagined winning this way.
He failed to make a birdie over the final 11 holes at PGA National and played them in 1 over. That proved to be enough, however, when the hard luck fell to Mark Calcavecchia, whose bunker shot inexplicably rolled through the green and into a hazard; and bad luck sided with Luke Donald, whose chip to force a playoff stopped inches short.
That's what had been happening to Els lately, whether it was Boo Weekley chipping in twice to beat him at Hilton Head last year, or Els hitting a tee shot out of bounds on the 18th hole at Kapalua, a fairway wide enough to land a jumbo jet.
If nothing else, winning the Honda Classic is a good start with the Masters Tournament looming a month away.
Els has changed his worldwide travel schedule slightly to spend more chunks of time in the United States, and he signed up for the entire Florida swing. The hope was to build a foundation, make some progress before getting to Augusta National.
The victory should pay loads of dividends.
"It does matter," Els said of ending a 31/2-year drought on the PGA Tour. "I really put my sights onto playing a solid Florida stretch because I needed to get some confidence going before Augusta. Obviously, it was a great start."
Els is part of a field this week that includes defending champion Calcavecchia, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose, of England.
